Special Olympics ‘flame of hope’ torch comes to Berkeley

The Special Olympics torch being carried on the Sacramento stretch of its final leg. The torch will be coming through Berkeley Tuesday July 14 on its way to LA for the Special Olympics opening ceremony on July 25. Photo: FinalLeg.org

On Tuesday, an international team of law enforcement officers will bring the Special Olympics “flame of hope” torch through Berkeley as it makes its way to the opening ceremony of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles Coliseum which open on July 25.

The torch run is on its final final leg through California, and Berkeley will mark the occasion with a ceremony at 11:30 a.m at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Mayor Tom Bates will speak at the ceremony, as will SpecialOlympic athlete and Final Leg runner William Corsi from the Florida Torch Run Program.

The final leg began on July 13 at the State Capitol Building in Sacramento, and, by the time the torch reaches LA it will have been carried through more than 120 cities, towns and communities across the state.

The Special Olympics torch. Photo: FinalLeg.org

The officers and athletes who run with the torch come from around the world and spread the message of acceptance and inclusion for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. They are selected by their respective SpecialOlympics programs to be one of the 126 Final Leg Team members based on their dedication and commitment to the SpecialOlympics movement.

The Flame of Hope will complete its journey on 25 July when the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg team carries it into the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 World Games on 25 July, and it ignites the cauldron at the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics opening ceremonies.

With 6,500 athletes and 2,000 coaches representing 165 countries, along with 30,000 volunteers and an anticipated 500,000 spectators, the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles will be the largest sports and humanitarian event anywhere in the world in 2015, and the single biggest event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games.

The public can see daily photographs, videos and read reports of the Flame of Hope’s journey online at: LETR-FinaLeg.org and on social with #FinalLeg2015 on Facebook and @LETRforSO on Twitter.

For more information on the 2015 SpecialOlympics World Games, including volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.LA2015.org and on social with #ReachUpLa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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